Symptoms

What are the symptoms of Hib disease?A person with invasive Hib disease can have different symptoms depending on what body systems are affected. See next question.

How serious is Hib disease?Hib disease can be very serious. The most common type of serious Hib disease is meningitis, an infection of the membranes covering the brain (from 50% to 65% of cases). Symptoms of Hib meningitis are fever, severe headache, decreased mental status, and stiff neck. The mortality rate is 2% to 5%. In addition, 15% to 30% of survivors suffer some permanent neurologic damage, including blindness, deafness, and mental retardation. Another 17% of serious Hib cases include epiglottitis, an infection and swelling in the throat that can cause life-threatening airway blockage. Other symptoms of invasive Hib disease include: pneumonia (15%), joint infection (8%), skin infection (6%), and bone infection (2%).